Our Success
World AIDS Day
Since we began in 2011, World AIDS Day Detroit has grown into the largest HIV/AIDS awareness event in the state of Michigan. Annually, more than 1,500 participants attend our initiatives and learn about HIV in our community and ways they can make a difference. Our organization works with youth organizations, business leaders, politicians, the non-profit community, and the general public because we believe that together, we can achieve an AIDS-Free Generation.
Jeanne White-Ginder
Jeanne White-Ginder, mother of Ryan White, has served as our keynote speaker for the World AIDS Day Detroit Mayor’s Breakfast, as well as a presenter at our Youth Symposium at World AIDS Day 2011, 2013, & 2015. In 2018 Jeanne was the Keynote Speaker for our World AIDS Day Detroit 30th Commemoration event. Jeanne’s thoughtful reflection on the life of her son Ryan, is a powerful reminder of the obstacles faced by those living with HIV in the past, and the work we still need to do in order to achieve an AIDS-Free Generation. Ryan’s struggle to be accepted by his community still resonates today, as many people living with HIV/AIDS face stigma and discrimination based on their diagnosis.
Youth
In 2013 World AIDS Day Detroit launched our Youth Symposium for the purpose of engaging youth in a dialogue about prevention, stigma, discrimination, and facts & myths about HIV/AIDS. World AIDS Day Detroit partners with local high schools, youth organizations, and non-profits to recruit students and offer programming for our Symposium. In 2015, more than 350 students attended our Youth Symposium.
Creating a generation of professionals committed to the cause
World AIDS Day Detroit believes that medical professionals have a key role to play, not only in the treatment, but in in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. Our organization has partnered with Wayne State University’s School of Medicine to make sure our next generation of doctors are trained to help patients at-risk and living with HIV/AIDS seek the treatment and resources they need. Through our advocacy efforts, beginning in 2014 HIV/AIDS testing and counseling certification is offered to all second year medical students.